1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to polymer compositions and artefacts made therefrom. In particular the present invention relates to bioresorbable polymers having high mechanical strength and modulus and their use for the manufacture of load bearing medical devices suitable for implantation within the body.
2. Related Art
Orthopaedic surgery involves the implantation of materials that must be both biocompatible and capable of bearing high loads. Traditionally metals such as titanium and titanium alloys have been used, but these suffer a number of disadvantages. In recent years biocompatible, bioresorbable polymers have been developed that aim to overcome the deficiencies of metals in orthopaedic applications. However, current bioresorbable polymers such as poly(glycolic acid) (PGA) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and copolymers thereof require a great deal of processing to achieve the strength required for load-bearing orthopaedic applications. Furthermore, said materials are not stiff enough to resist deformation under high load.